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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · lash · coach · bass · fork · bat · leaves · tube

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. bass — low music
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. chest — a box
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. tube — the underground
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bat — the animal
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. tube — a container
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com